


friends' homelessness forces gays to sleep together

by quarterweeb



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert, Sharing a Bed, You are Yuu you feel, apologies if you aren't as mean as Yuu is here, i JUST FUCKIN REALIZED it's technically reader insert my b, i'm just so frustrated with these lovable dumbasses, i-- he's just so cute and tsun and i--, tbh the Jack/Yuu shipping was unintentional
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24084151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quarterweeb/pseuds/quarterweeb
Summary: “So, this is what it’s like, huh. Homelessness.”The wind howls its assent, and you and Grimm shiver.“So, we’re just gonna...sleep out here?”“Homelessness,” you nod solemnly.-Rewrite of Chapter 3-12, where Yuu/MC chooses to bunk in Heartslabyul instead of in Savanaclaw, after being kicked out of the Ramshackle Dorm by the Leech twins!
Relationships: Deuce Spade/Ace Trappola, Grim (Twisted Wonderland) & Original Character(s), Jack Howl/Reader, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 172





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I love: doing these twst rewrites, they're so fun :-D  
> I hate: adeuce, they're so stupid and i want them to get together but like they're both so dumb  
> also!! I'm pretty sure Ace and Deuce are not roommates, but like. no one will give me a straight answer on it so i just made them not-roommates

“So, this is what it’s like, huh. Homelessness.”

The wind howls its assent, and you and Grimm shiver.

“So, we’re just gonna...sleep out here?”

“Homelessness,” you nod solemnly.

Grimm whines. “Homelessness sounds tough!”

“Well, whose fault is it that we're homeless in the first place, huh?!” You jab a finger down at him. “Stupid cat.”

“I’m _not_ a cat—!”

A familiar voice cuts through Grimm’s escalating rebuttal. “Yuu! Grimm!”

Grimm’s ears perk up, swiveling towards the source of the sound. “Deuce?!”

You and Grimm shuffle down to the gate of Ramshackle Dorm, your few belongings in tow. You can see the hearts in Grimm’s giant blue eyes as Jack, Ace, and Deuce close the distance between you. “You guys came to save us! Thank goodness, we were gonna _die_ out here! You wouldn’t believe how _rude_ those giant twins were when they practically launched us out—”

“Shut up, Grimm, we don’t care about you,” Ace says, and Grimm chokes. “Look, Yuu, Jack filled us in and...it’s kinda our fault that you don’t have a place to stay, right? Plus, it’s not like you’d be able to get us out of this mess if you suddenly got sick from sleeping outside for three days.”

“You can just _say_ you’re concerned, Ace,” you mumble, mostly to yourself.

“We’ve already cleared it with Prefect Rosehearts,” Deuce says proudly. “You’re free to stay in Heartslabyul, as long as you’re okay with being in a four-person room.”

Jack wrinkles up his nose. “Five people in a four-person room’ll be too crowded. Doesn’t Heartslabyul have rooms free?”

Deuce shakes his head. “Our dorm hasn’t had any students expelled, so unfortunately not.”

“And with Riddle as dorm head, nobody’s going to get kicked out any time soon, either,” Ace sighs, folding a hand onto his hip. “But it’s open to you, if you want.”

“In that case...” Jack chews at his lip with a sharp canine. “Yuu, did you...want to stay in the Savanaclaw dorm?”

All of your jaws drop.

“S-seriously?” Grimm says incredulously.

“It’d only be fair,” Jack huffs, deflecting your shock with feigned disinterest. “I was supposed to have your back against Azul, but I ended up not helping you out at all, and now you’re stuck out here.” Jack gives a little half-shrug. “Besides, Leona’ll probably let you stick around, considering how you helped us out during the magical shift tournament.”

There’s a period of silence. You look over to see Deuce and Ace wearing matching shit-eating grins and staring directly at Jack.

Jack looks so confused, bless his heart. “What.”

“Well, this is unexpected,” Deuce says, setting his chin on his fist.

“Isn’t it?” Ace schools his face into something like shock. “To think, this intimidating wolf boy would secretly be a knight in shining armour for a person in need?”

“That _is_ pretty unexpected...” Grimm says, catching on.

Jack’s face is getting rosier by the moment. “D-don’t get the wrong idea—”

Ace does not let him finish. “To think, he would just come along and sweep Yuu off their feet like that! How chivalrous!”

“It’s enough to make anyone swoon,” Deuce says, nodding sagely, though he can’t quite hide the grin on his face. “What a gentleman.”

“Oh, but what if! But what if!” Ace is clearly enjoying himself, and you are kind of enjoying yourself watching him, even if it is at the expense of Jack blushing so hard he might stain his cheeks. “What if this is all an elaborate ploy by Jack to get Yuu alone with him?...At night?...For three days straight?”

You’re torn between laughing your ass off and sparing Jack any more of the teasing, and can’t decide which one’s a better option. “Guys— _pffft_ —guys, please—”

Deuce kneels to look Grimm in the eyes. “If I were you, I’d keep an eye on this guy.” He jerks his head in Jack’s direction, and Jack growls. “He might, you know. _Try something_.”

“It’s not— I just—” Jack’s ears twitch from where they’re pinned against his scalp, and he speaks through the rumbling in his chest. “Someone has to beat Azul, and Yuu’s the only one who can do that right now! So it’s better for me if I help them out!”

“Whatever you say, Prince Charming,” Ace says, slapping his shoulder, and Jack snaps his teeth at Ace’s retreating hand.

“In all seriousness, though, Jack brings up a good point,” Deuce says, still looking a little amused. “Yuu will probably sleep better if they're in their own room.”

“Yeah, that’s probably right!” Ace turns to you. “If you sleep in our dorm, you’re either gonna be on the floor or in me or Deuce’s bed. Unless...” Ace turns his shit-eater grin on you. “Maybe you’d like that better?” 

You roll their eyes at Ace’s waggly eyebrows before addressing your wolf-boy. “Jack, I really appreciate the offer...”

Jack’s big, fluffy tail starts wagging, which is so! goddamn! cute!, but you are about to break his poor doggy heart.

“But I think I’m gonna go with Ace and Deuce.”

All the boys are taken aback by this.

Grimm does a jolly little jig that you realize must be his attempt at stomping around in anger. “You’re gonna make us share with these two and then some?” 

“I’m locking you out, Grimm,” Deuce says seriously.

You click your tongue. “Look, Grimm, I don’t know about you, but I am...terrified of Leona.”

Jack cocks his head to one side and god he is cute! “Leona-senpai? Really?”

“I’m sorry, do you not remember him nearly turning us all into sand? Because _I_ remember it really well. _Too_ well, in fact.” You shudder. “Plus, I don’t think he’s forgotten about that time I stepped on his tail.... We may have helped him when he overblotted, but I’m not under any illusions about him liking us.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” Jack says gruffly, but his head hangs the tiniest bit and his tail goes still.

“Aw, Jack was really looking forward to some quality alone time with you,” Ace teases, and you do hit him this time.

“Hey, Jack.” He picks his gaze up to look at you. “Since you couldn’t help me find a place to live, you _have_ to help me fulfill Azul’s contract, got it? No flaking out.”

Jack’s tail starts wagging again, but he gives you a resigned huff. “If I gotta, to make sure I don’t owe you anymore, then I guess I’ll help out.” You smile gently. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Don’t stay up too late tonight.”

Before you (or Ace) can comment on that last thing, he’s already set off at a speedy pace. Ace and Deuce move to either side of you and Grim moves closer to your feet as you all watch him scamper away.

“Jeez, can someone say ‘tsundere’?” Ace tsks, shaking his head. “C’mon, Yuu, we better get back to the dorm; you’re freezing.”

* * *

You don’t sneak back to Heartslabyul, per se, but you’re under the distinct impression that Riddle might try to cut off your head if he heard you yapping it up in the lounge at one in the morning (or worse, kick you back out). So you opt for stealth.

“This way,” Ace whispers, nodding towards a hallway at the back of the common room.

Although you’ve been in Heartslabyul before, even visiting Trey’s dorm room at one point, it’s got a different feel at night. In the daytime, its bright colors and tall, uneven furniture add to the building’s quirky charm; now, it feels more....ominous. 

You pass a wide staircase and arrive at a hallway with a series of doors. Ace stops at the very first door and pulls out what can only be a key, though it’s shaped weirdly. Like everything else in the building, you guess.

Ace opens the door with a quiet flourish. “My humble dorm room, prefect!”

The room is very large, with four four-poster beds arranged around the edges. You can see three other bodies already snug in their beds.

“You’re not roommates?” you whisper. You don’t know why you thought Ace and Deuce were living together, but you kind of feel betrayed by the knowledge that they aren’t.

“Nah,” Ace says.

“Thankfully,” Deuce mutters, and yeah, he’s right.

You set your stuff near the empty bed, and Ace slinks up behind you.

“So, are you sharing with me or Deuce?”

“What?” you ask through a yawn.

“Unless you want to sleep on the floor, you’re going to have to sleep next to one of us, remember?” His head comes over your shoulder. “Deuce’s room is three doors down, if you wanna get a look at it.”

“Let me get myself together, will you?” you say, shaking him off you.

You’re already in your PJs, so the only things left are to brush your teeth and wash up before you go to bed. Deuce is nice enough to direct you to the hallway bathroom in-between Ace’s suggestive teasing. 

You head to the bathroom and turn on the faucet. There’s a person in there; they wave to you, and you wave back, even though neither of you knows the other. Maybe people are just friendly here! They definitely seem nicer than the Savanaclaw kids, cute wolf boy excluded (except not really because _boy_ was he scary when you first met). That’s enough of a confirmation that you should be here instead of in the Savanaclaw dorm. Savanaclaw probably would've made you prove your worth in a fight or some other bullshit.

As you clean your face and teeth, you think about the terms of your contract with Azul. The mafia boss-in-training had given you that potion, and sworn that you wouldn’t be stealing a priceless artifact, but you didn’t trust him (or anyone else here, for that matter) enough to take him at his word that that’d be the end of it. You’’ll need to find whatever roadblock Azul’s set up for you and destroy it as fast as possible, or you’ve got a short lifetime of being his slave to look forward to.

When you get back to Ace’s room, Ace is laying on his bed in his PJs and messing with a deck of cards. It looks like Deuce has already gone back to his room.

“Took you long enough! I thought you'd never be done in there,” he groans dramatically, and you shush him. “So you decided to bed with me, huh, Yuu? You've got good taste.”

“At this point, I’m just going to sleep on the floor,” Grimm deadpans, looking very tired of Ace’s bullshit.

“No, no, no, neither of us is sleeping on the floor. If I wanted to sleep on the ground, I would’ve stayed at Ramshackle.”

“We still woulda been outside though...”

You kick off your slippers before sliding into Ace’s bed, and motion for Grimm to join you. He hops up at the foot of the bed, curling into a ball just like a normal cat would. You scoot closer to Ace to give Grimm some more space.

“Hey, you don’t have to be all up on me,” Ace says, but he doesn’t make a move to push you away from him.

It’s crowded in the bed with two people and a raccoon-cat-magician, which is why you do yourself and Grimm the service of bodily shoving Ace off of his own bed. “What the f—!” is as far as Ace gets before his backside hits the floor and he swears loudly.

“Shhh, you’ll wake your roommates up!” you say, a little meanly.

“Whose fault is that?!” he hisses right back. “What was that even for?!”

“Look, I’ve got to get a good night’s sleep so I can save your asses tomorrow, yeah? And I don’t mind sleeping with Grimm, we’re dorm-mates. But three people—uh, beings—in one bed is way too many.”

“Are you serious?!”

Eh, you’re mostly serious. Grimm is curled at the far end of the bed, and you’ve got to curl your legs up so you don’t hit him. Technically, you could fit Ace in here with you, but it’d be a tighter squeeze than necessary.

“Hey,” you say, your smile growing in the dark, “you can always sleep on the floor. Or share with Deuce~”

If Ace was one of those half-animal kids from Savanaclaw you’re sure he’d be growling at you right now. Since he’s full human, though, the most he can do is seethe and shuffle over to the rug in the center of the room.

If you weren’t tired as all hell right now, you’d be crying with laughter at the sight of a put-out Ace indignantly trying to sleep on the hard floor.

“What’s wrong? Scared of sharing a bed?” you coo. “Deuce is only three doors down, you know.”

Ace doesn’t respond, and somehow that’s more satisfying than anything he could’ve said to you.

“Good night,” you call to him, and you revel in the silence that follows as you begin to drift off.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace isn't going to just lay on the fucking floor. What does he look like, a pet? No. He's going to do something about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first thing! I...forgot to change to change the title of this fic!! the title it has rn was a placeholder and tbh I didn't realize until 3 days after posting that it was wrong. At this point? it's whatevs y'know

Ace lasts about ten minutes before he gives up. The floor’s hard, okay?! It’s hard and cold and Ace wants to sleep in an actual bed. He’ll be in hell as soon as the stupid anemone on his head starts pulling him towards the Mostro Lounge, can’t he at least have 6-8 hours of comfort and peace?

Ace walks back to his own bed and looks down at the peaceful faces of Yuu and Grimm. They’ve both shifted as they slept, and there’s not even enough space for Ace to try and wiggle back under the comforter. Oh, how he would love to repay them for stealing his bed. Maybe he’d fill one of the trashcans in here with water and dump it on them or something. That’d be satisfying. But then it would be _his_ bed that was wet, so he’d still come out on bottom in that situation. Hm.

Ace pads off, his bare feet slapping against the floor, and reluctantly steps out of his room and into the hall. Better make this quick.

He closes the door behind him as quietly as he can before hopping the one, two, three doors down to Deuce’s room. He tries the door handle.

Locked. Of fucking course.

“Is it too much to ask for something to be easy for once?” Ace huffs. “Deuce!”

No response. He whispers Deuce’s name for a few more frustrating seconds before finally giving in and knocking.

Ace doesn’t hear anything, and honestly he’s _thiiiis_ close to just whaling on the door until someone opens it. Luckily, the door does just that as soon as Ace raises his fist to do some real banging. It’s not Deuce; one of his roommates is standing in the doorway instead. 

“Trappola?”

“Hey, Whist,” Ace sighs. At least it’s the roommate he knows; he and Whist are on the basketball team together. 

“Hey, dude. What—” he yawns and scratches at the nest of white hair on his head, “—what’re ya doin’ here so late? Was boutta fall asleep ‘fore ya knocked.”

“About that...” Ace starts unsurely, and Whist yawns again.

“You leave somethin’ with Spade on accident?” Ace’s face scrunches. Why would he assume Ace just dropped his shit in Deuce’s room? “Don’t worry ‘bout it, man, s’fine, t’happens. Come on in.” Whist waves him inside. “He’s asleep right now, though.”

Ace steps into the room and Whist leans on the door until it clicks behind him. The space is basically the same as Ace’s, except there’s a window in the wall and way less stuff on the floor. Must be nice to have tidy roommates, Ace thinks, not that he’s particularly clean either.

Ace approaches Deuce’s bed cautiously. He’s passed out for sure, buried under the covers with one arm slung across his pillow. He’s slightly off-set: making space for Yuu in case they decided to sleep alongside him, Ace guesses. It’s a surprisingly thoughtful gesture.

“Hey, I’m boutta knock out, dude,” Whist says, pointing at his bed. “Just make sure ya pull on the door till it clicks when ya leave.”

Ace has no plans on leaving, but, uh. Not like Whist needs to know his business. “Yeah, I will. Thanks.”

“No prob, man.” Whist jumps back into bed. “Night.”

He’s asleep in a matter of minutes, and Ace uses those minutes to hype himself up. He’s gonna just slide into this bed, next to his cute dumbass of a friend and it’s going to be so, _so_ normal.

Okay, now is _not_ the time to be thinking of Deuce being cute. This train of thought had been leaving the station a lot recently and it was, frankly, getting ridiculous. Ace would tuck himself all snug in his bed, and close his eyes, and something about Deuce would float up from the darkness. He’d fallen for another one of Ace’s easy tricks and spent the rest of the afternoon looking adorably confused, until Yuu came to spoil Ace’s fun; he’d smiled and thanked Ace for bringing him lunch while he studied for an upcoming test; he’d helped Ace to his feet after Ace got bodied in a magift scrimmage, and held his hand just a little longer than strictly necessary.

Honestly, it didn’t help that Deuce was his best friend and classmate, because that meant they spent most of their time together, and _that_ meant more time for Deuce to be cute and Ace to be around to see it and shove whatever cute thing it was into a memory box labeled “fuck fuck fuck am I screwed?! I am totally screwed!!!”.

It was embarrassing and Ace was fed up with himself. Deuce was the same idiot who dropped a cauldron on him the very first time they’d met! Who’d proven again and again that some people are a bottomless pit of imbecility! Ace couldn’t stand the idea of crushing so hard on someone he’d only known for a few months, never mind that that someone was a guy, and also a dubiously reformed delinquent, and also _fucking dumb!_

But it seemed like there was a lot of interference in the connection between Ace’s smart brain and his dickbag feelings, because his pulse was climbing with each step towards Deuce’s sleeping form.

Begging his heart to slow its fucking role, Ace sits on the footboard of Deuce’s bed timidly. All he has to do is get under this comforter, lay on this bed, and close his eyes. Simple. Normal. This is totally normal. Everything is _fine_.

Moving so slow he can feel his joints creak, Ace tiptoes to the top of the bed. Deuce is facing towards him, which isn’t making Ace any more confident.

He pulls back the covers on one side, and Deuce shifts but doesn’t make any more movements. Still safe. After this, though, Ace isn’t really sure what he should do. Should he try and get in the bed really fast and not drag the process out? Should he go slow so there’s less chance of him making noise? And when he actually gets in the bed, should he put his legs in first or—?

Okay. Okay. He’s overthinking this. He’s tired and he just needs to get into bed. It’s that simple, and easy, and _normal_. Nothing even to think about, really, not when Ace is just sharing a bed with his friend-crush- _definitely-not-crush-shut-up—_

A hand shoots out and clamps down hard on Ace’s wrist, shocking him out of his completely calm inner monologue. Ace freezes, and watches wide-eyed with horror as Deuce’s brain catches up with his body’s reaction.

“Sorry, Yuu, I shouldn’t h—” Deuce blinks, eyes adjusting to the dimly lit room. Ace doesn’t feel like he could say anything if he had something to say. “Ace? Where’s Yuu?”

There’s a sentence somewhere about halfway down Ace’s throat, but he can’t quite cough it out.

Deuce sits up, brows furrowed, and finally lets go of Ace’s wrist. That’s enough to make Ace choke out, “They kicked me out.”

Deuce scrubs a hand over his face. “They what?”

“Yuu pushed me out of bed. Said there wasn’t enough space for all three of us.” The memory makes Ace feel more like himself, because now he’s mad at them again for making him bruise his ass on the floor. “Lame-asses. So, uh...”

“...wait, did you close the door all the way? Until it clicked?”

“Oh, uh, Whist did. He was the one who let me in, door was locked. He was awake a little bit ago.”

“Oh, okay,” Deuce says, and yawns, his eyelids drooping. "Door wasn't supposed to be locked, sorry."

A silence descends. Bits of dust float in the space illuminated by the window.

“Can I sleep here?” Ace asks, not knowing what he’s going to do with himself or even how he’s going to react if Deuce says no.

“Yeah,” Deuce says, and when he lays down—on his back this time—he scoots over even more so Ace can lay next to him.

The mattress groans quietly as Ace swings his legs into the bed and pulls the comforter over himself. He’s hyper aware of the inch of space between his and Deuce’s bare skin.

His face starts to heat up. Is he blushing? For _this?_ God, this is the _worst._ Ace flings his outside arm over his face and mumbles his thanks into it.

No response from Deuce. Is he already asleep?

Ace lifts his arm just the tiniest bit to take a look. The moon’s rays fall in a steep angle across his face, drawing some of his features in sharp relief and softening those in darkness.

Is...is Deuce _blushing?_

He’s still staring determinedly at the ceiling, but with the help of the pale light filtering through the window he can see the healthy flush across Deuce’s cheeks.

Ace’s mouth says, “Hey, Deuce?” before Ace’s brain can stop it.

Deuce starts even though Ace is whispering and they’re right next to each other.

“Mm?”

“...what’re you thinking?”

Ace cringes, but Deuce doesn’t seem to notice. “I’m thinking...”

Deuce shifts to look at Ace. Ace shifts to look at Deuce.

“I’m thinking we really should’ve let Yuu go with Jack.”

Ace snorts and immediately covers his mouth, trying to stifle his own giggling. That gets Deuce started, too, until the both of them are laughing as quietly as they can manage, hands tight around their faces to keep from waking anyone. 

“Yeeeeah, we learned our lesson, huh?”Ace asks, after he finally manages to keep his relief and exhaustion from bubbling out of him in hiccups. “Never be nice to your friends.”

“Never be nice to your friends,” Deuce repeats solemnly. “Now get out of my bed.”

Ace’s eyes widen to twice their size. “Eh, seriously?! Wh—”

“You’re my friend, I can’t be nice to you anymore.”

 _Oh?_ “Well, if you’re not going to be nice to me then I won’t be your friend, which means I can stay,” Ace retorts.

“I can’t let someone who isn’t my friend sleep next to me.”

“Ugh,” Ace grumbles, and sees Deuce grin at his successful trap, overdue payback for all of Ace’s fallacies.

“Stupid,” Ace says, and flicks him.

Deuce grunts and pushes at Ace’s shoulder. “We should probably go to sleep.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Ace turns over, and the movement feels easy. “Night, Deuce.”

“Good night, Ace.”

He feels Deuce’s back pressed into his own, and the points of spreading warmth along his spine lull Ace into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have....one more chapter of this. It'll be really short, I promise, but I wanna do morning after. Honestly I'm just surprised I was able to write a chapter of anything in a week (in between writing other things!!) and I don't wanna press my luck.
> 
> lmk what you think in the comments! y'all know i love hearing from u
> 
> oh and btw!! oc's name is roland whist! roland is an alternate name for a jack of diamonds, and whist is a card game!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after. But like, it's not like anything happened the night before, so like--can you even use the phrase "morning after"?! It's kinda loaded, y'know?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg i cannot beLIEVE i put out a new chapter every tuesday. i feel like i've grown stronger as a writer :-D

It’s warm.

Not stifling, or fever-heated, like sleeping under a blanket in a humid summer. It's comfy, melty warm, like cocoa when it’s snowing outside. Ace thanks the Lord Azul Ashengrotto that he's being allowed a full night's rest, and in such lovely conditions.

He’s never been more tempted to skip his first class. Not that it takes much to tempt Ace into skipping class.

“Mmm,” a groggy voice behind him murmurs, and Ace feels a sigh fan gently across the back of his neck. He’s pulled closer until he’s flush against the person behind him. They settle back in, content; Ace prepares to do the same, already slipping back into—

Wait.

Ace's eyes shoot open, and the events of last night flood back. The Ramshackle Dorm foreclosure, Yuu’s shittiness, and the walk three doors down.

_Fuck._

Flames engulf his face as Ace begins to pry the tight cage of Deuce’s arms from around his waist. He should not be embarrassed about this, goddamnit, but just the stupidity of the situation—maybe he can get up without waking Deuce and pretend like he left in the middle of the night or something? Stupid, stupid, the whole thing is _stupid—_

Deuce, who is _still asleep_ , apparently doesn't like that his sleep aid is trying to get away from him. His now-freed hands shift to get a better grip on his prey. And of course— _of fucking course_ —his fingers press into the skin where Ace’s shirt is riding up, sliding higher and higher—

Ace does not yelp, okay!? He just—he just raises his voice in a normal way, and maybe falls out the bed trying to get away, normally!

He flails and lands gracelessly on his right hip with a worrying thunk. Ace groans, his eyes squeezed shut as he rolls onto his back. The sound of Ace hitting the floor is the sound that breaks the camel’s slumber, though, because when Ace opens his eyes there’s a spadeless face in the corner of his vision.

"What are you doing down there?" Deuce asks, blissfully unaware that he was sleep-molesting Ace less than a minute prior.

"Well, good morning to you too, you damn octopus," Ace scowls. Privately, he thinks that Deuce’s ignorance is to both of their benefits.

"Speaking of octopuses," Deuce thinks aloud, completely ignoring the implications of the jab, “you haven’t felt anything from the anemone, have you?”

“Don’t jinx us.” Ace wraps his hand around the squishy sea-thing coming out the top of his head but doesn’t pull on it; he gets enough of that from Azul. “Nah, I haven’t felt anything. We might actually have time to get breakfast this morning.”

“That would be nice,” Deuce sighs, “but if we’re going to leave it should probably be soon, just in case.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Ace gets to his feet and feels his hip throb in protest. “I’ll meet you in the lounge in, like, fifteen minutes?”

Deuce yawns. “Yeah, okay.”

“Don’t go back to sleep,” Ace calls behind him as he opens the door to go back to his room. 

And immediately runs into Roland Whist.

Ace jumps and collapses with relief. “I thought you were the dorm head for a sec...jeez, you scared me.”

“Trappola?” Whist looks just as surprised to see Ace, though not nearly as relieved. “What’re you still up in my room for?”

The relief wears into discomfort. “Uh, no reason?” _Ouch._ Apparently 8 hours unconscious next to Deuce was enough to strip Ace of his silver tongue.

Whist looked at him suspiciously. “Dude, I’m not stupid.”

“I’m serious! C’mon, man.” Ace scrabbles for his footing in a conversation pulling him down faster and faster. “I just needed Deuce to help me out with something, no big deal.”

“You needed _Spade_ to help _you_ with something? For the whole night?” Whist put his thin face in his hands and heaved a deep sigh. “Look, I’m happy for you and your...whatever Spade is to you, but like. Keep it out of my room, yeah?”

Whist slaps a final pat on Ace’s back and walks past him into his room. Vaguely, Ace wonders if there’s a high window in Heartslabyul that he can fling himself out of.

* * *

You wake up to the sound of Grim sleep-talking, _again._ Honestly, he can’t even shut up when he’s unconscious! But when you open your eyes, the sight overhead is not as familiar as Grim’s slurred mumbling.

It takes you a second to get your bearings among all the red, black, and white, but only a second; the contract, the dorm, and the sleep situation come back to you easily. You sigh, and give the comforter a mighty yank.

Grim topples off the bed with a startled snort. Luckily, he’s at least part cat, so every time you’ve done this he lands on his feet.

“The hell was that for?” he whines, rubbing at his eyes.

“We don’t have our ghost alarm like usual, so I took it upon myself to make sure you were awake for classes. _Aren’t I so kind?”_ you finish in a parody of Crowley’s voice.

Grim laughs but covers it poorly with a cough. “Let’s just go. Don’t you have to get dressed or something?”

You do, so you pull out your school uniform and shoo Grim out of the room. All of Ace’s roommates have already left, so you have the space completely to yourself.

Wait a minute: you’ve got the space _completely to yourself;_ Ace isn’t in a sad lump on the floor or pathetically snivelling at the corner of his bed for a crumb of mattress. Does that mean—? You can feel your smile curling up at the ends just like that cat guy Riddle and Trey are friends with.

You throw on the rest of your clothes and burst out of Ace’s room. Ace and Grim, both on the opposite wall, flinch.

“Yuu!?” Grim squawks. 

“Ace Trappola, did you sleep with Deuce!?” you yell, and a few people actually look down the hallway towards you.

“Sh, sh, sh!” Ace waves his hands around you. “Don’t—!” he starts, before pushing you backwards into his room and shutting the door.

“The hell are you doing!?”

You try valiantly to tamp down your gleeful expression. “I was just asking a question! You weren’t in here when I woke up, so I was wondering if you s—”

“Shut! Up!” Ace grits out. If his heart had been painted on his face yet, you don’t think you’d be able to see it through his embarrassment.

You drag a zipper over your lips and look at him with wide, expectant eyes.

“First of all, it’s none of your business where I slept, because _you_ were the one who kicked me out in the first place!” He jabs a finger into your chest, and you endure it quite happily. “Obviously I wasn’t just gonna lay on the ground in here like your lapdog or something!”

You nod, and try to look appropriately scolded, at least for a second.

Ace crosses his arms and hunches. “So, yeah, I had to sleep in Deuce’s room.” His blush has calmed to a faint pink.

You unzip your mouth quickly. “Just in his room, or—?”

Ace hits you in the shoulder pretty hard, and that tells you all you need to know.

“So, how was it? _Intimate?”_ you trill, walking around him to pick up your school stuff. “Did Deuce keep you nice and warm, tucked up next to him? You talk about your philosophies on life and love? Maybe he spooned you a little, made you feel all safe?”

You are _never_ gonna get tired of the look on Ace’s face right now. God, you wish you had a camera. One of those professional ones, so you could have his stuttering embarrassment immortalized in crisp 4K.

“Hey, look, you don’t have to tell me _everything_ that went on between you two. Honestly, I’m just surprised that it happened so soon, you know? There was, like, no build-up of tension...”

Ace throws his clenched fists around. You would bet money he’s got crescent marks on his palms. “I-I don’t know what the hell you think happened last night, but I can guarantee you that is it not whatever you’re imagining!”

“You suuuure?” you say. “My imagination’s pretty weak, you think you can fill in the blanks for me?”

Ace pushes you so hard you topple over, laughing the whole way. You hope Jack can feel you exacting his revenge on Ace for yesterday evening.

As you pant out your laughter, your sides aching, the door bursts open to reveal the other half of the nighttime festivities, painted spade and all.

“Ace, what are you doing? You told me to meet you in the lounge after fifteen minutes, remember?” Deuce peeks around Ace to look at you. “Yuu? What’s so funny?”

You struggle to catch your breath. Your sides hurt. “Aaah, nothing, nothing.” 

“Ace, you really should get dressed, y’know?” Grim says, sneaking out from behind Deuce’s legs. “Not that I’m psyched to go to class or anything, but last time Crewel said he would have a big punishment for the late puppi—uh, students.”

Ace winces. “So glassware cleaning or whipping, pretty much.” Deuce nods, grim.

You get to your feet, still a little wobbly. Teasing Ace is fun, but it doesn’t outweigh the pain of having Mr. Crewel publicly abuse you and/or make you do manual labor, ugh. Not to mention that’ll throw off all your saving-your-friends-from-Capitalism-Octopus plans!

“I don’t know what you’re waiting for, Ace, we’ve got to get going,” you say smugly, smoothing out your uniform jacket and your hair. You glance at Grim from where he’s still hovering near the door. His collar is crooked; you’ll get that before you get onto the main campus.

“If you hadn’t—!”

“Yuu’s right, Ace. We can wait, but not long,” Deuce interrupts. “Meet us by the mirror, okay?”

“...yeah, got it.” Ace sighs, and Deuce closes the door on him.

“Ugh, so cute! You’re the only one who can tame Ace’s bad attitude~ Though I guess it helps that you also have a bad attitude once your switch gets flipped...” you mutter as you, Deuce, and Grim walk to Heartslabyul’s mirror to wait. “I just flipped the switch, flip, flip, flip....”

Deuce looks over to you curiously. “Are you talking to me, Yuu?”

“No, just to myself! Just to myself,” you say, waving your hand dismissively. “Now I’ve gotta come up with a cute ship name for them...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and comments are very much appreciated, and as always i hope you enjoyed! honestly thank y'all so much for reading this whole thing, it's not long or anything i'm just super grateful <3 i love adeuce so so much but unfortunately i cannot write them kissing, only trapped in vague cliche scenarios with no clear resolution

**Author's Note:**

> idk when i'm gonna have the next part of this up, but i am planning on writing more of it!! i actually have to get to the part where ace and deuce sleep in the same bed lol  
> it'll happen!! i'm starting an internship tomorrow tho so i'm boutta be busy whew
> 
> come yell at me on [my anitwt](https://twitter.com/quarterweeb)!


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